Thursday, April 13, 2006

There Is Something About Immigration

As many people know, immigration debates have been sparked across the country. The debate is how to deal with illegal immigrants. When we think of this term, very quickly our minds go to Spanish immigrants from Mexico and Central America. The Senate has tried to pas legislation which would make being an illegal immigrant a felony offense. This, however, has since been taken out of the proposed immigration bill and there are hopes the United States can do something to take care of the border and try to put a handle on the immigration issue.

But while the country is trying to get a handle on this, there are protests from the Latinos. Thus far, there have been a large number of protests that have had both LEGAL and ILLEGAL immigrants protesting the new laws the United States want to pass. In fact, the degree in which Latino protestors have now begin to go towards is rather intriguing. Spanish workers are being told that they should skip work on certain days in order to show the value of their services. In this week alone, workers skipped out on Monday, April 10 and were advised to do so Thursday, April 13. A third date is expected to be on May 1, a Monday, with who knows how many more of these dates to be set up in the time between the two.

While workers plan on trying to show their strength as an economic force, employers will not tolerate this kind of attitude from their employees. I know for a fact on manager at Staples was livid when he found out how many of his employees bailed out on him when it came to their shifts on Monday. While he did not have a problem with their protesting, he did have a problem with them passing the buck on their responsibilities. In Detroit, a meatpacker fired FIFTEEN immigrant employees because they skipped out of work. The employees were warned what would happen to them if they did it, but it seems they decided to see if the warning was nothing more than a bluff. In an article from the Detroit Free Press, a woman named Mercedes said this was not fair and that she was protesting for her rights. Irony: SHE WAS AN UNDOCUMENTED WORKER!

The Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter on this situation is this: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE NO RIGHTS IN THIS COUNTRY! They are what is called illegal for a reason. People like Delores Huerta, who say that the border was crossed over the immigrants, not the immigrants over the border, seem to forget a few historical facts: 1. The border between the United States and Mexico was settled in 1848 and later in 1854 with the end of the US Mexican War and the Gadsden Purchase. 2. Unless the illegal immigrants were born in 1848, then they are very much illegal. 3. The Latino community living in the United States since 1848 have been citizens of this country, especially because the children that were born after that year were automatically made citizens.

So why is it we can’t take care of our own borders without a protests? People are lazy. There are those in this country who want to pass the buck on to someone else. As a result, those who do work hard end up having more of their money taken away from them because they have to pay for all the social programs that these illegal immigrants go to. Think about it people, if an illegal immigrant gets shot in a gang fight and they go to the hospital, who has to pay for their bills: THE TAX PAYER A.K.A. YOU!!!!!!

So what should we do about these people? Personally, I say we arrest them, detain them, deport them, and work to make sure they can never come back into this country again. What about the employees who don’t come to work to protest? I say fire them. We as a country need to send a message to these people. They say are an economic force. We ALLOW THEM to be that way. If these people are fired, then other can do the work. Is it harsh? Yes. Is it mean? Yes. Is it wrong? Depends on who you are. Some will says yes. Others will say no. What we find ourselves with here is a vocal minority who wishes to express their views onto the majority simply so they can have their way.

Generations of immigrants have come to this country legally and have made a success of their lives. To allow people to abuse this system is an abomination to the foundations of this country. We will lose our identity. We will lose our society.

Does this mean immigrants cannot come to the United States? No. What this means is that if you want to come here, you should do it in a legal manner. This country does not have a problem with immigrants who come here, contribute to society, pay taxes, and work to make this a better place. This country does have a problem with those who come in and do not contribute to this society through helping to make sure that the programs that are in place to help the citizens of the United States are fully funded.

Ever wonder why social security is in trouble? One reason is because of illegal immigrants. Part of your paycheck goes into social security. Now I know there are other factors that are causing the problems for this particular program, but illegal immigration is still one of them.

So what do we do? Do we allow this problem to continue? Do we tell the illegal immigrants they can come into the country without limitations? Do we allow the protestors to have their way? The answer is one which can only be made by you the reader. My own answer to these questions is this: we must take a stand. The needs of the country must be put forth. If the immigrants do not like it, they are more than welcome to leave. If given that choice, I am willing to bet they will sooner stomach our desire to secure our borders than pack up and move to another place which does not have the opportunities that we have.

1 comment:

Dont you think all these immigrants would have liked to have entered the US legally and become citzens? Do you think the US immigration system would let in thousands of poor mexicans in each year? So what is left for them except to get in ileagally.